German Transportation Entrepreneur Eyes California

In looking at innovation and entrepreneurship in Germany we took a peak inside the see through Volkswagen factory in Dresden. In this entry we share the story of Stefan Gulas, whose eROCKIT product is a pedal/electric powered bike/motorcycle that according to Techcrunch, defies categorization. From Sarah Lacy for Greentech at Techcrunch:

Gulas thinks this odd power-pedaling will change the world of transportation and that all automobiles will become more active. I disagree. I lean more towards a future of multitasking in Google’s self-driving car than a return to the Flintstone’s car. But I could see the eROCKIT being huge in a city like San Francisco where it’s sunny almost every day and home to one of the most aggressive pro-bike cultures on the planet.

Gulas wants to move the company headquarters to California if he’s able to close this funding round. He loves the German engineering heritage of the company, but says European investors have found the project too weird. In just a few weeks in the US, the difference in investor reception has been like night-and-day. While the knock in Europe was that he didn’t have a market for them to evaluate, he says investors here have said the lack of an existing, defined market is what interests them.

And in a strange globalization twist, he expects making the bikes would be cheaper here because some of the materials come from the US, most notably the A123 electric batteries. Either way, he hopes to start selling them here in the next year.

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The Global Entrepreneurship and Development Institute is a Washington, DC-based policy development organization dedicated to expanding economic opportunities for individuals, communities, and nations.
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